Solana uses a peer-to-peer gossip protocol based on the Plumtree algorithm, allowing decentralized communication between nodes to propagate state changes efficiently across the network without relying on a central source.
Every 0.1 seconds, Solana nodes exchange "push" and "pull" messages, ensuring continuous and up-to-date information sharing to maintain rapid data dissemination and synchronization across the network.
The gossip protocol consists of four main message types—Push, Pull, Prune, and Ping/Pong—that help distribute data, request missing information, manage node connections, and check node vitality.
Gossip data is stored in a Cluster Replicated Data Store (CrdsTable), which is continuously updated with incremental updates to the network's state, ensuring data availability and synchronization among nodes.